Arttofimpactwindows, thank you so much for the well thought out advice. I agree with you that there are complications to replace the bottom plate and floor underneath it. I already had some of the concerns you presented and you described some additional ones I had not quite thought about. So, now, there are perhaps a few extra factors to consider: A) I forgot to mention that the room on the other side of the wall (kitchen) will be remodeled soon and kitchen cabinets will be added, so I do not mind replacing the wallboard on that side too. As a matter of fact, I may just have to do that anyway to fix the ¼" vertical floor to ceiling wallboard crack on the other side. Now on the left side (see picture) where there is stucco, if any nails go from the stucco into the bottom plate, or bottom of studs, then I will indeed have to remove those. Perhaps I can add some angle brackets from the new header/bottom plate to the stucco to re-establish the same level of support. B) the kitchen side of the wall will have to be opened up anyway because the top plate of the wall does not pass the screwdriver test. At least a section of that top plate is soft as a cork. But I was planning to be fix that from the other side, when the kitchen is remodeled. C) My pictures do not show the complete foundation. So one cannot tell that the "gap" is only on the foundation wall, not the footing. The footing is contiguous and does not have any cracks. I think that perhaps implies that there was no foundation shifting (?) otherwise wouldnÂt a ¼"-3/8" settling manifest itself as a crack somewhere along the concrete footing? So just by looking at the wood, it seems to me that it was the wood that gave way, that is, deformed, the bottom plate was fragmented so it could not distribute any load, the subfloor underneath warped/shrunk and the sill over the "gap" perhaps also gave way some. You see, right there where the walls meet, also falls part the weight from the roof valley (see my notes on the photo). The studs may have also shrunk a bit, as the wallboard crack on the other side is longer at the top than it is at the bottom. D) Through a measurement (which I will not bother you describing) I estimated that about 500 lbs sit on the joist that falls over the gap. So, seems like the temporary 2x8, if preloaded with a floor jack (see notes on photo) should be able to take that load without deforming, right? That should also prevent the wall from re-settling onto the new members (as you described)? In any case, here is a pictorial description of my plan of action. If I decide to go ahead and do it, I will post pictures as the work moves along (will not start for a few more days as I am now into re-plumbing work).

You should be able to lightly sand the raised wood, and coat with finish. I would try this in an area that may not be too noticable first. Finish if applied properly should last for many many years. Water on the finish should have no effect. I use a catalyzed Varnish and part of the test is 30 days wet in a bell jar with no effect. Lacquer is softer and will allow water to penetrate the finish, this is what causes the white ring when a glass is left on a piece of furniture. The water will evaporate but the minerals left behind form the ring. Kitchen cabinets typically are coated with a Catalyzed finish of some type as it is much more reistant to water. Were these cabinets finished on the job ? You can also take a drawer head and sand and recover the inside to make sure the new finish is compatable with the existing finish, that way if there is a problem it will not show. Good Luck !

What primer did you use before adding the drywall mud? About the only primer that will stop old water stains from bleeding thru is shellac. Zinsser's Bin primer; the one in the red can is a pigmented shellac. If you used any primer other than shellac, the discoloration is almost certainly because the old stain has leached through the primer and the mud.

Multiple times on this forum, I have stressed this and have highly recommended that water should be trucked in to fill a pool immediately. Anytime puddles are formed on the surface, the plaster will cure at a different rate than the remainder. It's not a stain, but a discoloration due to the water puddling. Water/hydration is part f the curing process. During the fill, sequestering agents must be added to protect against mineral staining. With the pool filled over a few hours, the filtration system must be started. Brushing can start immediately twice a day or more if you prefer. This is to prevent the plaster dust developed from sticking to the surface. The filtration system will pick up suspended material. Brush for 2 weeks. Within 12 hours, the water can be tested and adjusted as needed. DAILY testing should be done for 2 weeks. Within a couple of days typically, the plaster dust can be vacuumed to waste. We will use a vinyl vacuum head that has brushes so as not scratch the surface. Filters must be backwashed or taken apart and cleaned at this point. DAILY testing should be done for 2 weeks. Do not blast the heat in a spa for 28 days. Do not run auto cleaners for at least 2 weeks. We hold off on adding chlorine for as long as we can over this 2 week period. Small amounts are added if hot weather is a factor. Do not add salt for salt water generators for 30 days. (Also, I can’t believe a PB would sell a $100K pool, stick a hose in it on Friday afternoon and leave for the weekend, never mentioning to the homeowner that something as basic as moving the hose could ruin our plaster finish...) I can believe it. I've seen it multiple times in 35 years. The dirt stains probably will come probably out over time as they are just organic material. The discoloration I'm afraid, will not. It may fade a bit over time. Jack's Magic makes several products that deal with stains. They may have a solution for this issue.